Three Ways to Overcome Discouragement - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - November 26, 2022

rick warrens daily hope new banner may 2022

Three Ways to Overcome Discouragement
By Rick Warren

“Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious.” Nehemiah 4:14 (NLT)

How do you defeat discouragement in your life? By following Nehemiah’s example.

In Nehemiah 4, you’ll find three things you can do to resist discouragement.

Reinforce weak areas. Make an honest assessment of where you are most spiritually vulnerable. Are you most vulnerable to anger, lust, pride, or something else? What are your weak areas?

When Nehemiah heard that his enemies wanted to attack the Jews who were helping to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem, he “stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. [He] stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows” (Nehemiah 4:13 CSB). Nehemiah did his homework. He knew where the city’s most vulnerable spots were, and he developed a plan.

Maybe an area in your life needs some reinforcement. To resist discouragement, you’ll need to reorganize and reorder a few things. Are you in debt? Reorganize your budget. Are you out of shape? Reorder your lifestyle. Don’t give up in your weak areas. Instead, reinforce them.

Refocus on God. You can overcome discouragement when you stop focusing on what you don't want to happen and start focusing on God’s promises. Sometimes you are as discouraged as you want to be or as happy as you want to be. Nobody is forcing you to be discouraged.

When Nehemiah became aware of the people’s anxiety, he stood up and said, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious” (Nehemiah 4:14 NLT). He reminded them of God’s goodness and power.

Don’t replay discouraging images in your mind. Instead, choose to think about God. Jonah 2:7 says, “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord” (TLB).

Fight back. Did you know you are engaged in a spiritual battle? The Bible says, “The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him” (1 Peter 5:8-9 ESV). You can’t resist the enemy with passivity. You have to fight for what you know God wants you to do with your life.

Nehemiah 4:14 continues, “Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” (NLT) And do you know what happened next? “When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall” (Nehemiah 4:15 NLT). God strengthened them to continue the work.

When you reinforce weak areas, refocus on God, and learn to fight back, you’ll be better equipped to resist discouragement.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!

Choose Faith Over Fear!

Are you ready to live with more freedom, joy, and impact?

That’s what you’ll discover how to do in Pastor Rick Warren’s 6-session, *video-based Bible study Daring Faith.

Complete with a study guide and devotion for each day, this study will help you learn how to . . . expect the best, build a life of faith, stretch your imagination, take initiative, face your fears, and trust God while you’re waiting.

So request your copy of Daring Faith when you give a gift today to help more people break free from fear and find their hope in Jesus through Daily Hope.

*Video is available in DVD or streaming formats. The workbook will be mailed to you.

*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.